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GOP rep on proposed assault weapons ban: We have to draw a line somewhere

GOP Rep. Brian Mast, who is calling for an assault weapons ban, says "our Second Amendment is an unimpeachable, God-given right ... but we recognize there is a line somewhere that we say, here is the Second Amendment and here is public safety" https://t.co/416HcbNs1F

"Our Second Amendment is an unimpeachable, God-given right to defend ourselves; one of the most basic rights," Mast said on CNN's "New Day." "But we recognize that there is a balance between what is the level of lethality, what is that level of firepower and does that fall in line."

"We recognize that there is a line somewhere that we say 'here's the Second Amendment and here is public safety,' " he added. "And there is room. They're not mutually exclusive to one another."

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Mast penned an op-ed in The New York Times last week coming out in support of a ban on assault-style weapons, writing that a prohibition on civilians buying military-style weapons does not violate Americans' constitutional right to bear arms.

Mast's comments came less than two weeks after a gunman opened fire on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., killing 17 people and injuring 14 others.

The suspect in the shooting, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, allegedly carried out the attack using an AR-15, an assault-style rifle that he purchased legally from a dealer in Coral Springs, Fla., roughly a year earlier.

The attack has reignited an intense national debate over gun control laws that has put pressure on politicians.